The HealthyLC APP Blogsite

I read a short article on the Internet that compared sugar and molasses. The article stated they were both sugars and therefore the same. They could not have been more wrong.

Molasses is a byproduct of the process of refining cane sugar into sugar. That process removes water, vitamins, minerals and fiber from the cane sugar. Molasses retains the water, vitamins and minerals that were removed from the cane sugar.

Therefore, sugar and molasses are very different. Molasses is comprised of 22% water. It also contains in 1 teaspoon: Potassium – 102.0mg, Magnesium – 17.0mg, Calcium – 14.4mg, Omega 6 – 3.5mg, Selenium – 1.3mg, and Choline – 1.0mg. Sugar contains no water or vitamins and minerals. Moreover, to make matters worse, the lack of water in table sugar cause it to draw water from the body for it to be digested. Consequently, sugar dehydrates the body.

Molasses, on the other hand, contains water and vitamins and minerals that promote hydration and improved health while satisfying the sweet tooth.

Exercise is one of the best ways known to keep yourself looking and feeling your best. However, many of you don’t know enough about exercise to produce an effective exercise plan.

The solution to that dilemma is simple. It is the MET, which stands for metabolic equivalent. The MET is the ratio of work metabolic rate to resting metabolic rate. 1 MET equals 1 kilocalorie per kilogram of weight per hour of expended energy which is the amount of energy we all use while at rest. While at rest, your MET=1. Walking at a brisk 3.0 mph, your MET=3.5. This means that during a brisk walk, you are expending 3-1/2 times more energy than when at rest.

Here are some MET values and their associated activities to help you better understand the flexibility that the MET offers.

A comprehensive list of MET values and the associated activities can be found in my Smartphone and Tablet APP, “healthylc.” The APP and the MET chart are a free download.

Having used the MET for many years, I can say that planning and implementing my exercise routines has been easy. I walk briskly (3.0 mph) for about 1 hour or more at least 3 times a week. This is the exercise at which we all get the most aerobic benefit with the least amount of effort. If I want to cut my exercise time in half, I can jog between 4.5 and 5.0 mph because I am expending twice as much energy (MET=7.0) as when walking briskly (3.5 mph). By doing the math, developing and implementing an exercise plan that meets your fitness goals can be easy for you too.

INTRODUCTION

Is There A “Cure” For Fibromyalgia? The medical doctors say there is no cure for fibromyalgia. However, from my observations of a woman with a very serious case of fibromyalgia, I have discovered that there is indeed a “cure” for the illness. Based on what I observed, the “cure” for fibromyalgia is as simple as the “cure” for asthma? That is, it is all about a dietary imbalance. In the case of asthma, the dietary imbalance is protein intake. In the case of fibromyalgia, it is fat intake.

I need to first correct my wording. “Cure” is not the best word for what I am about to describe. I prefer to call it a “dietary correction.” Why not “cure?” First and foremost, I am not a doctor. Second, because cure is a medical term that connotes exhaustive research that results in a drug or procedure that eradicates the health issue. My approach is holistic. I seek to find a lifestyle connection with a health issue. When I find the connection, I make the lifestyle correction and the health issue goes away.

I will recap on the dietary correction for asthma. I discovered the link between protein and asthma in 1995. In 2006, I completed the details of how protein intake can be managed so that asthma becomes a non-issue over the lifetime of asthmatics. In 2008, Johns Hopkins published a study stating that there is a link between protein intake and the reduction of the severity of asthma attacks. That study provided credibility to my protein-asthma theory.

FIBROMYALGIA

In January 2015, I met a lady that suffered with debilitating bouts of fibromyalgia that left her bedridden for 5 to 7 days from time to time. When I met her, I was intrigued by the thought of tackling a health issue head on versus discovering a solution to a problem over time as I happened across information related to that health issue. I told her it would take me from 1 to 2 years to find a solution to her fibromyalgia.

Why 1 to 2 years? I have been working health and wellness issues for over 50 years. During this time, I have developed an intuition concerning health and wellness that has helped me quickly narrow the focus of my experiments to a health solution. My first health solution took me 20 years to uncover (hair growth: 1987 to 2007). Eight years later, I am down to less than 2 years.

Back to the lady with fibromyalgia: I changed her dietary balance by lowering her carbohydrate-protein ratio and added vitamins and minerals to her daily diet. These changes helped. But she continued to have debilitating bouts that left her bedridden although they were less frequent.

During my initial observations, I did notice that she was eating a large amount of butter on bread an hour or so before going to bed. She was doing this to insure that her blood sugar would not drop overnight. Being a “health nut,” I found this practice disturbing but did not want to make a change that might cause her to go into cardiac arrest, so I said little about it. It wasn’t until I began to eat a small piece of bread soaked in olive oil late in the evening that I made the fat connection. When I began the practice of ingesting a large amount of fat in the evening, I began to experience leg muscle pain and discomfort. The pain and discomfort was so great that I was having trouble falling asleep.

This is when my health and wellness intuition kicked in. I thought to myself, this is strangely similar to the fibromyalgia pain and discomfort of the muscles that she has been experiencing for years. Her muscular pain and discomfort covers her whole body. My muscle pain, due to the short amount of time that I practiced ingesting large amounts of fat late in the evening, began by affecting my leg muscles. If I had continued to eat that much fat for a longer period of time, I would also have succumbed to more painful bouts of muscular pain and discomfort that would have covered other parts of my body.

I stopped eating large amounts of fat in the evening and my pain disappeared immediately. She substituted a carbohydrate snack for the bread smothered with butter and she has not had fibromyalgia pain that leaves her bedridden any longer. She does continue to have muscular pain and discomfort that can last for up to a day. This will continue until her body’s muscles repair – provided she continues to watch her fat intake. At that time, she will begin a walking program increasing her level and intensity of activity to the point where she will be considered physically fit and free of fibromyalgia pain.

To read more about my observations on fibromyalgia (and asthma) and how I helped this lady rid herself of the muscular pain and discomfort of fibromyalgia, download my Smartphone and Tablet APP, HealthyLC. In the APP, HealthyLC, I will also update the Page on fibromyalgia with updates on the progress of this now happier lady.

One last point: Don’t forget that you heard the fibromyalgia solution (fat intake) here on www.healthylifestylechoices.org by Jorge Lugo for the very first time. Eventually, just like in the protein-asthma solution, Johns Hopkins or another research institution will look into the fat-fibromyalgia solution and confirm there is a connection.

Research conducted on laboratory mice concluded that nutrition can prevent the damaging effects of radiation. When we hear the word radiation, nutrition is the farthest thing from our minds. What does come to mind is the image of exposure to enriched uranium, as a result of fallout, from an atomic detonation. But aside from atomic blasts that are more frequent today, we are also bombarded by a variety of sources of radiation.

We are exposed to power lines, cell phones and towers, and let us not forget the microwave. The reality is, this long term exposure to low levels of radiation that we experience on a daily basis can be just as damaging, and possibly just as deadly as exposure to fall out from an atomic blast.

The Evidence

In 1982, Dirk Pearson and Sandy Shaw published the bestselling book titled, “Life Extension.” The focus of the book was the use of FDA approved drugs to cause the body to stimulate metabolic functions to speed up the regeneration of cells in the body. When regeneration occurs, the body is more energetic and looks younger.

In the book, Mr. Pearson and Ms. Shaw also cover the importance of nutrition by supplementing with vitamins and minerals. The importance of nutrition was highlighted in one study cited in the book. In the study, mice were separated into 2 groups. The first group was fed a normal mouse diet while the second group was fed the same diet supplemented with vitamins C, E and A. The mice were then exposed to deadly doses of radiation. The results showed a dramatic difference between the 2 groups. The mice from the first group all died. In sharp contrast, the mice in the second group that ate the normal mouse diet supplemented with vitamins C, E and A all survived. Imagine a deadly dose of radiation that kills mice having no or little effect on the mice whose diet was supplemented with good nutrition. Pretty amazing!

So there you have it. Making sure that you supplement your diet with adequate amounts of vitamins C, E and A will ensure your continued health and wellness in spite of the bombardment of chronic levels of radiation that the environment around us provides. So what are adequate levels of C, E and A?

Vitamin C:

Vitamin C puts the immune system T-cells in high gear. As a result, the T-cells aggressively destroy cancer cells. Radiation has been shown to increase the risk of cancer. So I am currently taking 4,000mg of vitamin C with no adverse effect on my stomach. However, it’s important to note that the stomach can handle up to 2,000mg at one time according to Dr. Linus Pauling and other vitamin C researchers. To stay well below the 2,000mg limit, I take 1,500mg with breakfast, 1,500mg with lunch, and 1,000mg with dinner and it does not affect my stomach.

I go into more detail on these 3 vitamins on my Smartphone APP, “HealthyLC,” The information on C,E and A that I provide goes into amounts and my experience with supplementing my diet with these vitamins.

Vitamin E:

vitamin E prevents the growth of tumor cells into cancerous cells by depriving the tumor cells of the large blood supply they need as they grow into cancer cells. The recommended dose for those who supplement is 400IU. The upper limit is 800mg. However, if you exercise heavily, you might consider going even higher than 800IU.

Vitamin A:

A is available via a multivitamin-mineral tablet that contains 5,000IU of the vitamin. It would be beneficial to also take 5,000IU of Beta Carotene which is the vegetable form of A. The combination of A and Beta Carotene has been shown to increase the bioavailability of A when both are taken. Beta Carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body as needed.

Does Vitamin C Cause Kidney Stones? My experience with vitamin C indicates that it does not cause kidney stones. The literature that I have read on the subject goes back to the late 1970s, and clearly states that the cause of kidney stones is a noisy environment coupled with not getting enough magnesium in your diet. Actually, blood work completed on people with kidney stones shows that the common factor they share is they are low on magnesium. Continue reading →

In January 2008, Johns Hopkins, a prestigious research clinic, published a clinical study on asthma stating there is a link between protein intake and the reduction of the severity of asthma attacks. What this means is, there now is a nutrition solution that is drug free and that can alleviate an asthmatic’s condition.

Moreover, I have discovered, while conducting decades long testing to determine what protein level is best for me to grow and maintain muscle, that increased intake of protein also helps to alleviate my allergies. So it appears that the answer to the asthma and allergies question is directly related to the amount of protein in one’s diet.

Putting this information in perspective, there now is help for the 76 million asthmatics in English speaking countries that is nutrition based. India leads with 36 million asthmatics, with the US closely following at 20 million. The total for the UK, Canada, and Australia adds another 20 million. These numbers do not include allergy sufferers.

The long term health consequence of asthma is damage to the lungs resulting in issues with upper respiratory infections and discomfort. As an asthmatic uses an inhaler to stop an attack, the time lapse between the onset of the attack and stopping it is when the damage to the lungs occurs. Over time, the damage is cumulative and gets worse with every attack. So the solution is to stop asthma attacks from occurring, and not treating the symptoms when they first appear. When an asthma sufferer stops having asthma attacks, the lung tissue has an opportunity to heal. In this scenario, the lung tissue gets healthier over time.

Johns Hopkins: Protein a Possible Key to Allergy and Asthma Control

Release Date: January 2, 2008

Excerpt: “Activating a protein found on some immune cells seems to halt the cells’ typical job of spewing out substances that launch allergic reactions, a study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests. The findings could eventually lead to new treatments for allergic reactions ranging from annoying bouts of hay fever to deadly asthma attacks.”

The approach that Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center has taken is important and necessary in the fight against asthma. Johns Hopkins may eventually discover more effective methods to alleviate allergies and stop asthma attacks altogether. Next generation medications will subsequently be developed and made available to the public so asthma and allergy sufferers can enjoy being symptom free.

The medication solution is exactly what is needed by asthmatics and allergy sufferers that are not aware of the protein-asthma/allergy connection. A short term solution that involves medication is necessary and desirable for sufferers that have no interest in holistic approaches or have other more serious health issues that are causing the asthma or allergy attacks. But for the majority of sufferers, the holistic approach is the easiest to use and it is available today.

Discovery: Stopping Asthma Attacks

In 1995, I was conducting a health analysis for co-workers to determine if they were getting adequate amounts of protein in their diets. I completed over 30 health analyses. The purpose of my analysis was to determine my colleagues’ protein requirement and intake, and introduce them to the Shaklee Soy Protein supplement. During this process, I also discovered that adequate amounts of protein in an asthmatics diet stop asthma attacks altogether. This was a remarkable discovery, but I needed confirmation. I got confirmation when I helped my youngest daughter stop her asthma attacks. I was also excited to find the Johns Hopkins study published in 2008 on the web when I Googled a search in 2011.

By happenstance, two of my co-workers that completed the questionnaire are asthmatic. The first was a lady around 40 years of age. The second was the teenage son – 16 years of age – of a lady that worked near my office cubicle. As I reviewed the answers to their questionnaires, I noticed that in both cases there was an inadequate amount of protein – by weight and level of activity – in their diets.

The 40 year old woman and the teenager stopped experiencing asthma attacks when their protein intake was raised to meet their required amount by weight and level of activity.

In 2006, my youngest daughter experienced her first asthma episode when she was in the sixth grade. She was running in the school yard during a break when she began having difficulty catching her breath. Before that day, her mother and I had no idea that she had developed asthma. Needless to say, I was taken aback. However, remembering my experience with helping asthmatics in 1995 by increasing their protein intake, I began taking my daughter by McDonald’s for a 4 piece chicken nuggets every day and sometimes every other day. Once my daughter’s protein intake increased, her asthma attacks stopped immediately.

How Much Protein Is Enough?

Excerpt: “Protein has been discovered to help keep asthma attacks to a minimum, and nutritionists now are recommending between 40 and 50 grams of protein a day to counteract the effects of asthma and slow down attacks, which is a little higher than the average daily protein intake.

Protein is an essential nutrient that the body requires to grow, fight off disease and stay healthy. Generally, people think protein is only good at building muscles, but it is also a great way to battle asthma and allergies. The more protein in your diet, the more it helps, but try and eat healthy proteins with lower fats and remember that a balanced diet is essential for any healthy lifestyle. Nutritionists believe that 70 grams of protein a day for men and 50 grams a day for women is needed in a healthy diet to allow the protein to have beneficial effects for asthma patients.”

I don’t agree with the view of the nutritionists in its entirety. If one suffers with asthma, one needs to increase their protein intake as necessary to stop the attacks. If it turns out to be more protein than needed by weight and level of activity, so be it.

The Plan

In my plan for stopping asthma attacks on my smartphone APP, “HealthyLC”, I discuss the full details of the examples I gave above with the 2 co-workers and my youngest daughter. I also cover protein intake and how to manage one’s protein intake so it would be unlikely that you will ever experience another asthma attack.

Download the HealthyLC APP on Google Play or the APP Store and begin practicing the healthy lifestyle choices that will increase your energy levels so you will look and feel your best including stopping your asthma attacks if you suffer asthma symptoms.

The cost of treating chronic illness can get expensive. Forty-two percent of adults in the US don’t think they can afford to get sick. The financial hardship associated with deductibles and co-pays can literally drive those of us with medical insurance to the poor house. I would hate to think what the consequences of getting sick means to those individuals who don’t have medical insurance. Continue reading →